Chapter 738: Heavenly Lake Empire
In the Mysterious City, the Taishu family was slaughtered overnight, causing no small commotion. Everyone had died by the sword. Amidst the thick, bloody aura within the Taishu family estate, there seemed to linger a faint, icy chill that had yet to dissipate.
When the people from the Divine Palace arrived, they quickly reached a conclusion: Lin Feng had been there. Though he had fallen into demonic possession, he had still massacred the Taishu family.
However, when the Divine Palace sent people to search the Mysterious City, they could no longer find any trace of Lin Feng.
Heading north from the Snow Domain Mysterious City, continuing further north, one had to pass through the various powerful empires and forces in that vast region, such as the East Sea Empire and the Jade Heaven Empire ruled by the Jade Heaven Royal Clan. Among these empires was a rather unique nation—the Heavenly Lake Empire.
What the Heavenly Lake Empire was most famous for was its snow-capped mountains. The Heavenly Lake Snowy Mountains stretched endlessly, never melting year-round, and were bitterly cold. Throughout the empire's vast borderlands, all was covered in snow, with snowflakes drifting through the sky all year long.
Perhaps by coincidence, Lin Feng, carrying Xue Linglong and accompanied by Tang Youyou, was now treading upon this snowy mountain region.
Seeing the white snow on the ground, Xue Linglong let out a low, excited sound. Then, she leaped directly from Lin Feng's shoulder down to the ground, rolling and frolicking in the snow, as if she greatly loved this snowy land. It reminded her of home.
"It's so cold here," Tang Youyou muttered. Lin Feng nodded and glanced at her, noticing that her cheeks had turned slightly red, seemingly from the cold.
This snowy mountain region was indeed extremely cold. For them, who were at the high-level Mysterious Martial Realm, to actually feel cold, one could imagine how terrifying the temperature was.
Yet Mengqing was not afraid and seemed very joyful, causing Lin Feng to shake his head slightly in confusion.
"Crossing the Heavenly Lake Empire, we will then enter the Ancient Dragon Domain and reach the location of the secret realm. For us, the Heavenly Lake Empire is the best route," Lin Feng said slowly.
Tang Youyou nodded in agreement. Lin Feng had made enemies with powerful forces like the Jade Heaven Royal Clan and the East Sea Dragon Palace, all of which were in this region. To reach the secret realm, the Heavenly Lake Empire was indeed the best route—close and safe.
Their footsteps made a rustling sound on the snow. Lin Feng looked around at the surrounding snow-capped mountains. On several of them, people were actually cultivating. Even though their bodies were stiff with cold and completely covered in snow, they were reluctant to leave the mountains. For snow cultivators, these snowy peaks were sacred grounds, offering great benefits. Unless they reached their limits, how could they easily leave?
"Boom!" At that moment, the peak of a snowy mountain shattered. A figure shot up from within the mountain, shaking off the snow with a shudder, revealing his face clearly.
"Such a strong aura." Lin Feng cast a glance at that person. It was a young man, not very old, and on his face still lingered a hint of youthful, inexperienced innocence.
With a step, the young man moved to another snowy mountain and punched it directly. With a rumbling sound, the mountain cracked, and snow rolled wildly.
But the young man did not stop. With another tremor, he punched at a distant mountain through the air. Instantly, the roar of a snow dragon rang out, crashing into the distant peak. The mountain exploded again, snow tumbling violently.
"Boom, boom, boom..." A hint of excitement showed on the young man's face as he threw punch after punch, causing one snowy mountain after another to collapse. He let out a furious roar: "All of you, get up!"
The people cultivating in those snowy mountains indeed woke up one by one, stepping out from the shattered peaks and looking at the young man with displeasure.
"Huangfu Chong, what exactly do you want?" A furious shout rang out, causing Lin Feng and Tang Youyou, who were at the foot of the mountain, to stiffen. This guy's name felt so strange. His surname was Huangfu, but his given name was just a single character—Chong.
"You'd all be more used to calling me Great Pest," Huangfu Chong said with a grin, looking a bit foolish. "I want you all to watch me go to Heavenly Lake and enter the secret realm together with Tianchi Xue."
"Great Pest, just give up. You and Tianchi Xue are from different worlds," a mocking voice rang out. But Huangfu Chong seemed unfazed and said honestly with a smile, "I must marry Tianchi Xue as my wife."
"Overreaching."
"Living in a dream."
Those people sneered one after another. Marry Tianchi Xue as his wife? In the Heavenly Lake Empire, everyone wanted that, but how could the saintess of the Heavenly Lake Empire be obtained by this dim-witted Huangfu Chong?
Though they had to admit that they were wary of Huangfu Chong's strength—this guy had a poor mind but extremely high talent, and none of them could beat him even together—otherwise, they wouldn't waste words with him and would just attack directly.
"Hehe, laugh at me all you want, but you must come with me to Heavenly Lake and be my underlings," Huangfu Chong said with a grin, causing the group's expressions to stiffen. "Dream on," they said angrily.
"Having more people always looks more impressive. I'm going to marry Tianchi Xue as my wife. Whoever doesn't come, I'll beat them until they do," Huangfu Chong threatened, shaking his fist. This made the group's faces turn ugly. Although this guy was mentally unstable, he always followed through on his words. If someone didn't go, they would really get beaten. Huangfu Chong had done such things before.
"We can go, but as your friends, not your underlings," someone said coldly.
"That's right, not underlings."
Huangfu Chong thought for a moment, then nodded. "Fine, as friends."
The group's expressions improved slightly. They gritted their teeth in hatred for this guy.
Huangfu Chong slowly turned his gaze and landed on Lin Feng. With a step, he descended directly to the ground, arriving beside Lin Feng.
"Are you going to Heavenly Lake too?" Huangfu Chong asked Lin Feng.
"Perhaps," Lin Feng nodded. These people were all quite strong, especially Huangfu Chong. Though young and seemingly crazy, he actually possessed the cultivation of the Eighth Layer of the Mysterious Martial Realm, at its peak.
Moreover, he had just said he would enter the secret realm together with Tianchi Xue.
"Then come along. You can be my friends too," Huangfu Chong said with a grin. "My name is Huangfu Long, but they prefer to call me Huangfu Chong. I think Great Pest suits me better."
"..."
Lin Feng and Tang Youyou were speechless. This guy was truly a freak, yet his cultivation was so powerful.
"Is this your girlfriend? Her cultivation is impressive—peak Eighth Layer of the Mysterious Martial Realm. But she's not as strong as my wife Tianchi Xue. My wife's cultivation is at the peak of the Ninth Layer of the Mysterious Martial Realm, and she should be more beautiful than your girlfriend too," Huangfu Long said, scratching his head with a simple smile. This time, not only Lin Feng was speechless, but everyone else rolled their eyes.
Since when did the saintess of the Heavenly Lake Empire become Huangfu Chong's wife? This bastard was too shameless.
"What did you mean when you said you would enter the secret realm together with Tianchi Xue?" Lin Feng asked Huangfu Long. Although this guy spoke carelessly, he wasn't annoying. A simple-minded person wouldn't have a bad heart. On the contrary, Lin Feng now detested people like Duan Wuya, who smiled warmly at everyone.
"Heavenly Lake is the sacred ground of our Heavenly Lake Empire. Soon, the empire will send people to the secret realm, with Heavenly Lake publicly selecting candidates. Anyone in the Heavenly Lake Empire who wants to go to the secret realm can try. With my strength, I definitely won't have any problem."
Lin Feng's eyes flickered upon hearing Huangfu Long's words. To enter the secret realm, one had to follow a faction to be allowed. He had been worrying about whether to temporarily humble himself and pretend to follow the Divine Palace's side. Now, it seemed the Heavenly Lake Empire offered an opportunity.
"Oh, by the way, I still don't know your name," Huangfu Chong suddenly remembered, scratching his head with some frustration.
"My name is Lin Feng."
"Lin Feng, you're probably not from the Heavenly Lake Empire, right? If you also want to enter the secret realm, following Heavenly Lake is the best choice," Huangfu Long said.